Destruction
by Ibbonray
Summary: Lynn "Destruction" Raze is Dauntless. Her family knows this. Her best friends, Marlene and Uriah, know this. But when her Aptitude Test results turns out differently, Lynn is faced with an impossible decision... and then everything starts to go downhill. One-sided Marlynn, and the story of how it came to be.
1. I

A/N: I said I wouldn't post this until I had more chapters but, ah, why not? Contrary to popular belief, I'm irresponsible. Feedback is encouraged. Please be lovely readers and review- I'll only ask once. Constructive criticism welcome.

Chapter One

The wind whips her long hair as she gazes up at the blue sky. Her feet are dangling off the side of the moving train and her hands are clutching the side handles until her knuckles turn white, as not to fall out of the vehicle and onto the patches of worn grass a hundred feet below. Not that it scares her- Lynn's never been afraid of heights- but there's a fine line between brave and stupid.

Currently, Lynn is staying on the safe side of that line. She was being brave. Of course, bravery has been a reoccurring event in Lynn's sixteen years of life. She is assuming this bravery will stay with her until the end of her days.

She hopes the end of her days is far away. Lynn might be brave, but she's not brave enough to die so soon.

The wind roars in her ears and her eyes water beneath her modest and meticulous coat of eyeliner and mascara (in her opinion, heavy cosmetics are for slutty bitches), but she doesn't mind. Lynn has been dangling her feet off the edge of the trains for at least three years now. Nobody ever gets in her way; since she's the only one brave enough to do it. The others have shown their bravery on numerous other occasions, but this is her chance to shine.

A peal of laughter sounds behind her, and Lynn looks over her shoulder, smiling slightly when she locates the instigator of the sweet sound. It's Marlene: Lynn's best friend. She is conversing vociferously with Uriah Pedrad, who Lynn is close to as well. The three of them are practically inseparable, and Lynn would probably be joining the conversation if not for her daily ritual to establish her bravery.

After all, she needs the bravery, since today is the Aptitude Test, and everyone she knows is counting on her to receive Dauntless. It's been drilled into her head so many times to get this said result that Lynn may just die of embarrassment if she does not succeed.

They are approaching the school now (once called the Sears Tower- now nicknamed "the Hub"), and Lynn calls to the others. It has been established that she notifies the rest of the people in the car that it's time to jump. The others in the car- her classmates, that is- stand, clutching bars on the ceiling and whatnot as not to fall. When the train's horn blares and those in the cars in front of her begin to hurl themselves out of the train, Lynn gives out a yell and pushes off of the side of the train, landing on both feet and running a few steps to regain her balance.

Looking behind her, she comes face to face with Uriah and Marlene. Marlene is still giggling and Uriah seems to have swallowed a dose of pure mirth as he wraps his arm around Marlene's shoulders. Looking at this, Lynn feels a pang of loss, wishing she had someone to wrap her arm around. She shoves the feeling away, holding her smile, but cannot shake the sense that she is the third wheel of the party.

"Hey," Lynn says, "What's so funny?"

It is Marlene that answers, smiling and tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I insulted Uriah, so he threatened to push me out of the train. I said he wouldn't in a million years."

"Yes… and?"

"And I thought- I thought she said a million _ears!_" Uriah says, bursting into laughter once again.

Lynn rolls her eyes at the childlike misinterpretation, cuffing Uriah on the shoulder, resulting in his sharp intake of breath at the pain. Lynn isn't the most gentle of women, a well-known fact in the Dauntless compound. The cuffs on the shoulders she dishes out aren't exactly pleasant.

She checks the black watch she wears on her wrist, marveling at the silver buckle that holds it together before gauging the time. Her older sister Shauna gave the watch to her, on her sixteenth birthday. That was only three or four months ago, in the raging heat of the summer. It's late autumn now, and most of the leaves on the trees have turned and fallen to the ground.

The time reads 7:27, meaning there are only three minutes until class will begin. Lynn smiles. She's never been late before, and she isn't planning on being late now. That means she has to run to arrive in Literature before the bell rings, and Lynn loves to run. It makes her feel free.

Marlene is in Literature with her, but Uriah is in Advanced Math (Lynn often wonders why he was put in the "advanced" class, sometimes teasing him about belonging to Erudite, which Uriah doesn't find very funny). However, these two classes are located in the same hallway of the Upper Levels building, and so they proceed to run together.

They sprint past the large metal sculpture in front of the Upper Levels building. Lynn isn't sure what it represents, but whenever she inquires Marlene about her thoughts on its origins, Marlene just tells her to "stop being Erudite and get climbing" (the Dauntless think of the sculpture as not a work of art, but a test of bravery, meant to be ascended to the very top). Lynn doesn't think she's Erudite- she just questions things. Is that such a problem?

Passing the sculpture, Lynn, Uriah and Marlene pass through the front doors. There is a flurry of motion inside. Everyone is rushing to get to class on time, in their own separate ways. The Dauntless are running, the Amity skipping; the Erudite take quick, measured steps; the Abnegation are walking in their slow, careful way, and the Candor seem to stomp their way to class, faces red. Lynn would laugh, but she's running too fast to notice others- running too fast to care about the nervous atmosphere around her- running so fast that the world is a blur except for her and her two best friends.

Finally, they reach a split in the hallway, turning left towards Advanced Math and Literature. The hallways are cramped, those who are late hurrying towards their destinations, but they are not so oblivious to others that they don't make room for Lynn and company. As she, Uriah, and Marlene make a mad dash towards their classrooms, the hallway in front of them is completely clear, students pressing themselves to the walls to avoid them. It is at this moment that Lynn loves being Dauntless.

Uriah takes a sharp turn to the right, bidding them goodbye as he enters the Advanced Math classroom, and Marlene waves him a cheerful farewell while Lynn calls out, "See you at lunch, Pedro!"

"It's Pedrad," Uriah calls after her, referring to his last name, but Lynn simply looks back at him and smirks before Marlene tugs her into Literature.

The instant they enter the classroom, the atmosphere changes from unruly to sophisticated. The teacher, an Erudite lady with circular wire glasses that are perched on the tip of her nose, stares at the two girls disapprovingly as they collapse into their seats at the back. The majourity of the class in front of them (not the Abnegation- they are too polite to acknowledge the Dauntless' narrow avoidance of being late) turn around to stare at them a moment, and Lynn flashes them a dangerous smile before they face the front of the classroom again.

It is at this time that Lynn's watch presents the time of seven-thirty and the late bell tolls. There is a loud cursing outside the classroom and Lynn just catches a glimpse of Raymond Thompson, a fellow Dauntless, through the window of the door before he's out of sight, headed to his first class (late, by assumption). From the desk beside her, Marlene giggles.

The Erudite teacher (Lynn refuses to acknowledge her name, for she is strict, mean-spirited and unworthy of a title) raps her desk for attention, and then instructs them to open the books sitting on the corners of their desks and turn to page two hundred and fifty-three. Sighing, Lynn complies, but as a classmate from Amity begins to read from the book, she tunes out the words, choosing to focus on her classmates around her.

The Erudite in the room tend to sit towards the front, as do a few of the Amity. Lynn is sure the Abnegation would, too, but the Erudite have recently been acting very hostile towards Abnegation members, resulting in Susan Black and her acquaintances to sit in the middle; behind the Erudite and Amity, in front of the Candor and the Dauntless. The Dauntless- consisting of only Lynn and Marlene (in this hour and classroom, at least)- always sit towards the back. It's closest to the door, far away from the teacher, and if you want to pass notes, you won't ever get caught.

Lynn dislikes passing notes.

Marlene, however, is fond of the practice.

After the few minutes that Lynn's watchful golden brown eyes skim over the class, taking in the reserved Susan Black, prissy Pruella of Erudite, and the ever-smiling David Yurano from Amity, she catches sight of Marlene's hand slowly inching toward hers, holding a note written on white paper and torn off of a larger sheet. Lynn holds back what would be a not-so-subtle eye roll and snatches the note from Marlene's grasp, unfolding it and studying her friend's slanted, looping script: _Are you bored as I am?_

Lynn smiles devilishly, taking an ink pen from inside her desk and replying: _Let's get out of here._

Marlene reads this and lifts up a hand to cover her mouth as she giggles. Lynn loves the sound of Marlene's laugh, associating it with the tinkling of wind chimes- not that she like wind chimes. Which is a contradictory statement, she knows, but Lynn is a contradictory sort of person.

Which doesn't quite make sense- but Lynn doesn't exactly have a way with words.

Another note is passed to her, the handwriting not as neat as before, the letters scribbled down in a quick fashion. _How about I sneak over to Pruella's desk as she's reading and pass her a note, furthermore getting kicked out of class once the note is read aloud, and then you… improvise?_

Lynn isn't the best at improvising either, but she'll think up something. This is why she gestures towards Marlene, using her hands to say that the plan is adequate. Marlene, positively delighted, gives Lynn a large grin that she painstakingly obscures from the teacher's line of sight.

Now, Lynn focuses on the plot of the story, and manages to conclude that the obnoxious Mrs. Nottingham of Candor is a liar and a cowardly, evil excuse for a human being. When Pruella begins to read and Marlene slips from her seat, stealthily moving towards the front of the room, Lynn is as familiar with the text as she is going to get, and sits back to enjoy the show.

Marlene, on her knees and with her head ducked low enough to hide behind Pruella's desk as well as possible, crawls over to Pruella's side. Lynn watches as Marlene carefully lifts up a hand and sets a piece of paper right on top of Pruella's copy of the book, promptly scaring the Erudite half to death. Lynn cracks up, trying desperately not to laugh as she studies Pruella's shocked face and wide eyes, which begin to tear up as she reads the words of the note- words that Lynn doesn't know. Yet.

As Lynn is trying to control her mirth, Marlene is promptly caught by the teacher, as Pruella (who was reading) is now sniveling and sobbing into the sleeve of her cobalt dress, and Marlene was still snickering, on her knees next to Pruella's desk. The teacher is scolding Marlene for making Pruella cry- "what has gotten into you, Miss Mirage?"- until she catches sight of the note on Pruella's copy of the book. The teacher snatches it up, and begins to read to the class:

_"Dear Pruella; I don't mean to insult you- not really- but insults are inevitable when it comes to your entire being. Let me begin with the fact that you are a sniveling, upstart idiot with no more brains than a single-celled organism. Your untamable hair is despicable and your face is so pasty that I could mistaken you for one of the Erudite's computer screens. Oh, right- you're Erudite. I forgot that a pansycake like you could belong to Erudite- for a second there I thought you were factionless! In fact, maybe you should become one of the factionless. You don't belong anywhere, you nose. Have a lovely day. XOXO, Marlene."_

There is shocked silence. One could hear a pin drop, if not for Pruella's occasional wail and the teacher's deep, heaving breaths as she stares menacingly at Marlene, her face a deep purple. Lynn just about dies from silent laughter, trying to contain it all but succeeding poorly. And then, after a moment of nothing but soundless stares…

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" The teacher explodes in Marlene's smiling face, which is unfazed even after this loud exclamation. Lynn does have to applaud her best friend for her incredible acting skills- Marlene looks so _innocent._ She doubts the teacher would have blamed the blonde Dauntless, if not for the signature at the bottom of the note. The insulting and absolutely _wonderful _note that has made Lynn's day.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Azure, what did you say? I'm afraid I'm deaf." A few members of the class chuckle at this- mostly Candor- but the majourity of the students remain quiet.

The teacher (Lynn refuses to let "Mrs. Azure" stick in her mind) almost blows a gasket at this and can do nothing but point to the doorway, which Marlene gleefully and dutifully prances toward, grinning the entire way. Lynn snorts when Marlene, sticking to her certain flair for the dramatic, takes a deep bow before leaving the classroom.

The teacher instructs someone to lead Pruella to the counseling office. Immediately, Susan Black stands, the Abnegation that she is. Lynn watches, amused, as Pruella takes one glance at Susan and then recoils, looking offended and disgusted. _Of course,_ Lynn thinks. _Pruella can openly cry when she gets her feelings hurt, boo-hoo, but she can't ruin her reputation by letting a _Stiff_ walk her to the counseling office! Oh, no!_

Pruella's friend volunteers, and they walk out of the classroom. Lynn is glad for this. She can now pave her own way to freedom, using a technique that is a bit more blatant but not hostile toward her fellow peers- no, it is hostile towards the book they are reading.

David, from Amity, begins to read, his voice calming to those around him, making them momentarily forget the events that have just gone down. But Lynn is set on stirring up more trouble, and as David takes a breath to begin another paragraph, she raises her hand.

The teacher is surprised that she is interrupting, and motions to David to stop before asking Lynn, "Yes- what is it?"

"This book is utterly stupid," Lynn states bluntly.

Pushing her glasses up her nose and narrowing her eyes, the teacher asks, "And why do you think 'The Tale of a Dauntless' is 'utterly stupid', as you say?"

"Well," Lynn begins, "Mrs. Nottingham obviously does not originate from Dauntless. She may be Candor at heart, but no one is born in Dauntless and afraid of blood. When one is two years old, they undergo a ritual in which they watch two Dauntless fight for an hour. If they manage to sit through it without crying at the sight of bruises and blood, they get a special treat. If they manage to sit through five of these hourly fights, they are officially granted reprieve from these viewings. However, if the child cries during this hour, they must undergo another hour on another day until that hour is complete. If a child experiences more than twenty-five beatings, they are killed." She delivers these facts calmly, despite the disgust that shows in the teacher's and all of her classmates' faces.

"Therefore, if Mrs. Nottingham was afraid of blood, and cried each time she viewed it (as the book explains), she would be dead.

"As for another point, Mrs. Nottingham may have Candor's best interests at heart, but she does not belong to them. After all, the Candor are incapable of lying, and Mrs. Nottingham is obviously lying to Mr. Nottingham about having an affair with Mr. Bingley. Whenever Mr. Nottingham confronts her about this, she is cowardly, telling him she is completely loyal! It is understood that since it is Mr. Nottingham's point of view, he as a character should be confused about this, but to us readers this affair is as plain as day. And so what is the point of reading this if the outcome is laid before our very eyes when we are a hundred pages from the end? And are we going to finish the book anyway? …It is the last day of school, after all!

"And don't get me started on Mr. Nottingham. He is a spoiled brat who is naïve enough to think that his wife worships him. As for Mr. Bingley, why would any man fuck a-"

"Enough!" Lynn is interrupted by the teacher, who is glaring at her so viciously that if looks could kill, Lynn would be long dead. "Miss Raze, this story was not written for the plot- it was written for the vocabulary, written to be good writing; not a good story. I fully admit that I dislike it as much as you. However, it is a good lesson, and this is Literature, not Pleasurable Reading Time.

"Secondly, I am quite positive you have read ahead in the story, and that behaviour is despicable and inappropriate for this class. I specifically asked you all to wait and read this as a group, not on your own. And how, you ask, do I know that you have read ahead? Because the end result is not so easily interpreted from the plot line, especially to a brainless Dauntless such as yourself! If you continue to correct this writing any more, I am afraid I will have to think of you as Erudite, and I'd rather not. As far as I know, Miss Raze, you do not intend to become part of the Erudite, either. You will be able to discern what faction you belong to later today during the Aptitude Test.

"Finally, I think I have made it quite clear that you are not allowed to use that sort of language in my classroom. Please refrain from it. David, continue with your reading."

Lynn is shocked and mulls over the teacher's words, becoming increasingly angry. Why would she make her students read this, if she hates it so much? Lynn never read ahead- the end of the story is so distinguishable from the plot, which is riddled with gaping holes! And how dare the teacher accuse Lynn of possibly being Erudite, when Lynn is Dauntless through and through? Lastly…

She interrupts David once again in his reading, this time in the midst of a paragraph. "Language?" Lynn laughs. "Why is it 'language' if it is completely true? After all, it doesn't make any since for Mr. Bingly to fuck-"

"Miss Raze! _Enough!_ If you are going to continue in this fashion, then I ask you to go down to the principal's office and report your actions."

This is exactly what Lynn was hoping for. "Yes, ma'am," Lynn says curtly, pushing her book to the side of the desk and standing up, crossing her arms over her chest. "And if you would like to know, I am not Erudite- and I am not stupid." Then, with a _"have a lovely day,"_ directly quoting Marlene's note to Pruella, Lynn exits the room, making sure the door bangs loudly behind her.

Free at last.

Although Lynn is supposed to go to the principal's office, as the teacher said, she is set on disobeying the rules. But first comes first- she must find Marlene. And glancing down the deserted hallway, Lynn knows exactly where her best friend is hiding- in the supply closet a few doors down. It's close, it's secluded, it's convenient, and Marlene has hid there plenty of times before.

Marlene turns out to be exactly where Lynn thought, because when Lynn opens the door to the supply closet, Marlene comes tumbling out along with a mop, a few bottles of window cleaner, and a stack of clean towels. "Hey, Lynn," Marlene grins up at her, and Lynn rolls her eyes, helping the blonde to her feet before shoving the scattered supplies back into the closet and shutting its door.

"That note was hilarious," Lynn tells her.

Marlene beams. "Thank you. What did you do? Insult Miss Azure?"

"No. In fact, I insulted the book we were reading, pointing out the plot holes and the weakness of character. I may have said something _explicit,_" she rolls her eyes once again- a common action in the typical life of Lynn- and smirks, refraining from telling Marlene about the entire Erudite business.

"Plot holes? Where? Although I admit I wasn't really listening, it sounded like a pretty well-rounded book."

"Seriously? They were everywhere." The two girls continue down the hallway, running past the Advanced Math classroom and turning right towards the main hallway, where they exit through the main doors, intent on going outside.

Marlene arches an eyebrow. "Lynn, if you don't drop the 'it was completely obvious' demeanor, I swear you'll get Erudite on your aptitude test."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm Dauntless," Lynn grumbles, heading over to the sculpture in front of the Upper Levels building and standing under it, looking up at the glass and metal structure.

"Whatever you say," Marlene says, putting a hand on Lynn's shoulder. Normally Lynn would shrug it off, but she likes the warmth that Marlene's hand brings. It's comforting. Grounds her, almost, even though she's on the ground- which she won't be for long.

"Come on, Mar. You want to climb?"

Marlene stares up at the sculpture in front of her, a worried expression crossing her face, and Lynn can easily understand what she's thinking. Last year, Raymond Thompson was climbing the sculpture when he fell and broke his leg. An Abnegation girl went to get the medic, and Raymond was fine as a fighter the next day, but for some reason, Marlene hasn't been able to work up the courage to climb the sculpture since then, despite Uriah's begging and Lynn's friendly challenges.

"Mar," Lynn turns to her friend and stands on the tips of her toes to reach the same height as Marlene, "I know it's scary after what happened to Raymond. But when he was climbing, there were about a million people on with him, pushing and shoving him until he slipped and fell. Plus, he was really high up. I promise we don't have to climb higher than the first level."

"You promise?"

"Yeah. So, you up for the challenge?" Lynn smiles encouragingly.

Marlene looks up at the sculpture again, as if judging whether or not the first level is safe enough, and then slowly nods, beginning to gather her honey blonde hair into a low ponytail. Lynn leaves her hair down. She likes when the wind whips her hair into a tangled mess for an unfathomable reason. It makes her feel more alive.

The two girls begin to climb, using random dents and ledges in the metal as hand- and footholds, going slowly as not to slip. It is not long before they have made it to the first level, which is coated in a thin layer of dead leaves that have fallen from trees that surround the Upper Levels building. Brushing off an area for her and Marlene to sit on, Lynn hoists herself up onto the first level and dangles her feet over the side of the sculpture, lending a hand to Marlene. She takes it and Lynn pulls her onto the sculpture.

Marlene proceeds to position herself next to Lynn, and they look out into the distance, past the buildings and paved streets that eventually become cracked, to the Ferris wheel in the distance and the marsh that seems so far away and then even further, far, far away where the fence ends and then nothingness commences to survive.

At least, that's what Lynn has been taught: that there is nothingness beyond the fence. Not many know what's behind the fence. Not many want to know, either.

They are content to sit here for a while, side by side, Marlene with her arm wrapped around Lynn's shoulders, Lynn with her arm wrapped around Marlene's. They are best friends. Sure, Uriah tends to replace Lynn at times, but Marlene has known Lynn since before they could talk- Lynn, vice versa. The two understand each other- understand each other's words, actions, thoughts- and it will always be this way.

They sit in silence until, inside the Upper Levels building, the bell rings, signifying the change in classes, and Lynn and Marlene are forced to go their separate ways.


	2. II

Chapter Two

The Aptitude Tests begin after lunchtime. All of the sixteen-year-olds sit in the cafeteria, their food having been cleared away a few minutes ago, awaiting the calling of their names. Lynn sits with Uriah, Marlene, and the rest of the sixteen-year-old Dauntless members, laughing at the ridiculous stories Uriah is telling and playing cards.

"...And then Zeke said, 'Go ahead, jump,' so I did, and you should have seen the look on his face when he visited me in the infirmary!" Uriah says, slapping down two cards and grinning maniacally.

Lynn, who is sitting next to him, looks at the cards he has put down, at the cards in her hands, and calmly pronounces, "Bullshit, Pedro."

"Aww, come on, Destruction! How'd you know that?" Uriah says to Lynn, taking the massive pile of cards from the middle of the table and fanning them out in front of him, as they are now his. "Destruction" is Uriah's nickname for Lynn, based off Lynn's last name (Raze), which means "destruction."

"I am magical," Lynn says sarcastically, just as an Abnegation volunteer emerges from the exit and begins calling the next ten names for the aptitude tests. "From Dauntless: Marlene Mirage and Lynn Raze," she announces, and then suddenly the cards are falling from Lynn's hands, scattering all over the floor. She hastily bends to pick them up, but the damage has been done.

"Are you _scared,_ Lynnie Winnie?" Raymond taunts from across the table, leering at her while leaning back in his seat. "I doubt you're gonna get Dauntless, pansycake. You're just gonna hide behind that curtain of hair like a coward during the test, aren't you?"

Lynn ignores him, slamming the cards on the table and letting Marlene tug her away, towards the exit. She won't let Raymond's taunts get to her, even if she _is_ scared, even if she _is _frightened that she won't get Dauntless. Besides, she's used to him (and a few of the others) teasing her for her appearance, her smarts, her bravery…

Lynn and Marlene cross the room, passing by a few tables of Erudite members discussing the books they are poring over. Pruella and her group of friends are the only ones who look up, fixing Marlene with a glare. Next in line are a group of Amity girls, playing a game involving hand-slapping and rhyming lyrics. They wave a cheerful goodbye to the few Amity who have been called forward, and smile at Lynn and Marlene as the two Dauntless walk past their circle.

After the Amity are the Candor, who seem to be in the midst of resolving a friendly argument, half-smiles on their faces and their hands lying on the table, palms facing upwards in submission. It's an almost peaceful gesture. However, the Candor aren't ones for peace- they think that one could go to the extent of lying to reach tranquility, meaning the Amity aren't to be trusted (Candor values honesty).

Finally, Lynn and Marlene pass by the Abnegation, who sit quietly and motionlessly at their table, not once laughing or chattering meaninglessly. Lynn almost pities them. She thinks that those born in Abnegation tend to lead dull, depressing lives. The only people from their table who catch the eye are two blonde-haired girls dressed in overlarge, gray robes, their names having been called a few seconds earlier (whose names are Susan Black and Beatrice Prior, respectively- however, Susan is the only one that Lynn knows personally, so Beatrice isn't a familiar name to her).

Lynn and Marlene walk in front of Susan and Beatrice and reach the exit before the Abnegation, but after the two Candor. Outside is a row of ten rooms, separated by mirrors, and Lynn watches herself enter number three while she bids good-bye to Marlene, who enters room four. Marlene gives her a smile. Lynn grimaces- she should feel brave now, but her stomach is full of nervous butterflies.

Raymond's words come back to her… _"you're not gonna get Dauntless, pansycake."_ She's going to prove him wrong. She knows it.

Inside room number three, there is an Abnegation woman waiting for Lynn. She studies her with narrowed eyes- the woman, at first glance, is plain and forgettable. However, at closer look, her dull brown hair is actually bright red- her irises are a bit large, signifying coloured contacts- and the robes she wears are unusually large. A beauty trying to hide for the sake of her faction.

Lynn isn't Candor, meaning she doesn't usually ask frank questions, but she has to ask this. "Why do you hide?"

The woman's smile slips. "Hide?"

"Your hair is red- your eyes an undeterminable colour- your figure most likely ideal. Why do you hide? Why did you choose Abnegation?"

Her face goes stony, her lips pinching together as she studies Lynn. "It is where I belong," she says simply. "Now, could you please sit in the chair so I can help you discover the faction in which _you_ belong."

It is at this time that Lynn finally looks around the room, taking it all in. Mirrors cover every inch of the walls take away the ceiling, giving Lynn a full view of her long, hazel hair, tawny eyes, short height, and pointed, elfin chin. In another life, Lynn might be pretty. But she is Dauntless (well, she originates from Dauntless, anyway), and pretty isn't favoured in the Compound. Out of majourity, the preference is striking and sexy.

Lynn fits in neither category.

Along with the mirror-walls, the ceiling is covered in what seems like a sheet of fluorescent lights. Lynn blinks as she stares up at it, and when she looks elsewhere, the image of light temporarily mars her vision. In the centre of the room is a reclining chair, not unlike something you would see at the dentist's. Lynn walks over and seats herself in the chair, her eyes scanning over the machine located next to it. It's quite interesting. She wants to know what it does.

"What is your name?" Asks the Abnegation woman, whose original smile has returned as she begins to busy herself with the machine, fiddling with a few wires.

"I don't see why it would matter to you. What's yours?"

The smile doesn't slip. "My name is Althea."

Althea proceeds to attach electrodes to both of their foreheads, connecting them with wires. She works quickly and efficiently, her lips pressed together in concentration. A silence falls over the room, leaving Lynn to her thoughts as Althea bustles behind the machine and attaches the wires to it. Lynn cannot see what Althea is doing, no matter how far she cranes her neck, so she resorts to staring straight ahead at her reflection. Her face is unusually drained of colour. Why is that? Is she scared? No, Lynn isn't scared. She can't be scared because she is Dauntless. She is brave.

Soon enough, Lynn is pulled out of her stupor by a tap on the shoulder. She turns in her chair to realise that Althea is holding out a phial of transparent, undeterminable liquid. "Drink this," says the Abnegation woman.

Lynn takes the phial from her, inspecting it closely. "Interesting," she comments, holding the serum at eye level. "I suspected that they'd give us a serum of some sort, but this is unlike any I've ever seen, even coming from Dauntless. They normally take on a slight tint of colour, and this has none. Also, most must be injected into one's bloodstream, and they require this to be taken orally."

Althea softly places a hand on her shoulder. "It is required of me to be patient, and your assessment is meaningful, but I'm afraid we have little time on our hands. Would you please proceed to take the serum?"

"Of course," Lynn replies, shrugging the hand off her shoulder, and then she leans her head back, tipping the clear contents of the phial into her mouth. As she swallows, her eyes close, and an instant passes in which she sees only black.

When she opens her eyes yet again, she is in the school cafeteria. But this time, the cafeteria is empty, and it is wintertime and not autumn. Snowflakes stick to the glass of the wide windows, which overlook the sculpture out front that Lynn was climbing not too long ago. For a moment, she is struck with the need to break through the glass and climb it- dangle her feet off the edge with Marlene by her side- but Marlene isn't here, and that would be silly. Shaking her head, Lynn tears her eyes from the windows and focuses on the table in front of her: the table where the Abnegation sit. Placed atop it are two baskets. On closer inspection, their contents are a block of cheddar cheese and a knife with a wickedly sharp blade.

Out of nowhere, a woman's voice says, "Choose." It makes Lynn jump and look around for the source of the noise. She recognises the voice from multiple faction-wide assemblies in the bottom of the Pit: it's Jeanine Matthews, head of Erudite, an impressive but controlling lady who Lynn's already taken a disliking to. But Jeanine isn't there- it's only her voice.

"Why should I?" Lynn asks, looking at the baskets.

"Choose," is the only reply.

And so Lynn does. She strides over to the baskets and takes up the knife, because that's her obligation. She doesn't like knives much, but she knows it signifies the Dauntless, and that the cheese signifies the Amity. Lynn doesn't belong to the Amity. Lynn belongs to the Dauntless. Lynn has to get Dauntless.

"Very well," says Jeanine Matthews, and then, behind Lynn, a door squeaks. She turns around, wielding the knife, to find a dog standing in the cafeteria doorway, snarling and slinking forwards. Lynn quickly examines the animal, eying its pointed nose and white teeth and dark eyes, judging its pricked ears and short legs. It's the sort of dog that a Dauntless would have as a household pet. Lynn doesn't know what has spurred its viciousness, but she knows that she won't kill it, because it isn't a wild breed of dog. It's domestic. It could be tame.

Lynn also knows that while the breed is fast, she can outrun it. Lynn is the best sprinter in her class. If only there was somewhere to run to- there are only two doors in the cafeteria, and by now, they are both on the other side of the dog.

And then the window catches her eye.

There's a split second in which Lynn makes her decision, and then she's off, sprinting away from the dog with her knife clutched firmly in her hand. The dog barks and snarls from behind her, taking off in a wild chase, but Lynn doesn't look back. Instead, she's aiming for the windows. She has to get to the windows, or else this (possibly) domestic dog will (probably) attempt to kill her. Lynn doesn't want to die today. She doesn't want to die anytime soon.

The large windows come rushing up to her so quickly that Lynn cannot spare a second thought to rethink this plan. Well, at least the cafeteria is on ground floor- and as far as Lynn knows, the windows aren't reinforced. After the Abnegation repaved most of the roads a few years back, they were low on money to fund safety protection measures. Not that they are needed. The factions are relatively peaceful. It's the factionless that cause the stir… not that they have cause to enter the Upper Levels building. Hence little need for reinforced glass.

Eventually, Lynn is outrunning the dog and so close to the window that there's no turning back now. No turning back… no turning back… she braces herself, closing her eyes and holding the hand with the knife out in front of her so it hits the window first… but impact never comes.

Instead, Lynn finds herself running down the hallway she was in just an hour before- the hallway outside the Literature room. The knife has disappeared from her hand and, running her hands down her body, there's no shards of glass, either. The dog is nowhere to be found. Confused, Lynn mentally shrugs and opens the door to Literature, expecting it to be empty, as the entire Upper Levels building seemed to be (with exception of the dog). Instead, she is shocked to find a woman with sleek blonde hair pulled into a bun at the top of her head. The teacher. Mrs. Azure. _Oh, great, Lynn remembers her name. _

Mrs. Azure, as if on cue, turns around in her seat. She peers over her spectacles at Lynn and says, "Tell me what the problem is with this book." The novel she holds up is none other than the one they were reading in class.

Lynn frowns, narrowing her eyes. "I already did. You sent me to the principal's office."

"Tell me again."

The sixteen-year-old crosses her arms, heaving out a loud sigh. "Mrs. Nottingham is unrealistic, doesn't follow Dauntless customs, and lies every other sentence. Mr. Nottingham is a pushover. Mr. Bingly is a dick with a dick that deserves to go to hell. All the characters deserve to go to hell! This is the crappiest book I have ever had the pleasure- no, let me rephrase that, _disgust_- to read!"

Mrs. Azure stands abruptly, slamming the book down on the table before walking over to me. Her cobalt heels click on the tiled floor. When the teacher is but a foot from Lynn, she commands the girl to look into her blue eyes, and then asks, "Have you read ahead in the story?" Her tone is sharp, her lips pinched in fury.

"No, I have not," Lynn announces. "And if you don't believe me, you can go to hell, also."

"You're lying," she accuses.

"I am not lying."

"Yes, you-" Mrs. Azure is cut off by the sound of the door creaking behind them, and Lynn catches the glimpse of joy and affection in her eyes as the teacher looks past her. Turning around, Lynn jumps back in surprise, for the dog- the dog that was chasing her- is sitting in the doorway, tail wagging, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Lynn backs away, wary, but Mrs. Azure runs over to him, squealing, "Oh, good boy. Good boy. You found my classroom, didn't you? Good puppy. Good puppy." She reaches out to pet him.

Lynn is about to warn the woman- not that she feels the need to protect the Erudite lady, she simply doesn't want to experience the sight of a hand being bitten off- when the dog leaps back, letting out a warning growl itself. Mrs. Azure reaches out to pet the dog again, but the animal backs through the doorway, growling as if the teacher is some sort of predator. For a second, the Erudite looks simply confused, and then her eyes alight in suspicion as she rounds on Lynn.

"What did you do to him?" She demands. "What did you do to my puppy?"

"N-nothing…"

"You threatened him with a knife, didn't you?" Mrs. Azure looks enraged now as she backs Lynn into the corner, blue eyes flashing angrily. "My puppy would never harm a soul, and there's nothing that he hates more than a knife! It's your fault he's this way. It's _your_ fault, Miss Raze, and I know it. Tell the truth. If you tell the truth, then your punishment will be revoked."

For some reason, Lynn knows the teacher is lying. She'll be punished either way. And besides, it was the dog that approached _her,_ not vice versa. The knife was only for defense. "I have done nothing to harm your dog in any way," Lynn says defiantly. "Nor did I have a knife on me. It must have been someone else."

"You- you little- !" Mrs. Azure's face has turned a bright purple. "OUT! Out, out, out! Go to the principal's office. Your punishment will be delivered quite soon." She steps to the side to let Lynn pass, but when Lynn doesn't step forward immediately, the teacher pushes her forcefully to the door. "Get. Out. Now."

Lynn quickly backs out of the room with a nod, passing the dog (which bares its teeth in her direction). The teacher slams the door in her face. Lynn simply rolls her eyes, and then turns around, expecting to have entered the hallway once again.

But she's not in a hallway. She's in a room. A cube-like room, its width and height and depth all the same length, its walls and ceiling painted black. The back wall is a mirror, like something in a dance studio. The fluorescent lights illuminate the area, bathing the room in an eerie glow. In front of Lynn is a table, long and thin (like the tables of the cafeteria), but made of stainless steel. Atop the table is a single revolver. The only other thing in the room that gives it character is a person, their head down, their feet cuffed to the floor, their hands cuffed behind their back. They are dressed in baggy, tattered clothing: prison clothing. Lynn can't determine who it is, because a hood is drawn over hair, obscuring its color and casting a shadow of the delinquent's forehead.

For some reason, Lynn doesn't want to be there. The person cuffed to the floor- she feels like she knows them. The gun frightens her. What is she supposed to do it? Shoot the person? No. She won't. Lynn turns away and tries to exit the door the way she came, but when she tugs on the handle, it's locked. Lynn is locked in the room with the delinquent.

Gasping audibly, she turns to face the delinquent again, wondering what to do. And then Jeanine Matthews speaks, her voice coming from nowhere: "You must kill the felon."

Lynn looks up at the ceiling, staring into the fluorescent lights, as if conversing with some sort of heaven-bound deity. "Why?" She asks. "Who is this person? What have they done to deserve death?"

And then the accused looks up at Lynn, the hood falling away when done so, and Lynn's breath catches in her throat. The delinquent is a woman, with long blonde hair and pale skin and blue eyes. Her face is dirty and tear stained, the skin around her eyes puffy and her lips fixed in a ceaseless frown. And Lynn simply shakes her head. It can't be. It can't be. Because the delinquent never frowns. Because the delinquent always has a smile on her face. Because the delinquent cannot be a delinquent.

The whisper manages to escape her, the word forming on her lips. "Marlene."

A smile appears on Marlene's face, but it is not so much a grin as it is a smirk. As Lynn recoils, Jeanine Matthews goes on. "Marlene Mirage," says the voice. "Age sixteen. Charged for the mass murder of ten children in the Lower Levels building on January 8th. The trial was taken to the jury, and the verdict is execution." Lynn can almost hear the smile in the Erudite's voice. "You are the executor. On my command, shoot her."

There is a pause as Lynn lets this sink in, gazing at her best friend- her _insane_ best friend- who is smiling evilly, chained to the floor. Marlene doesn't speak a word. And then Lynn begins to shake her head vehemently, denying any chance that Marlene would commit homicide. Marlene is a good person. She can't believe it.

"No. No, no, no, no, _no._"

Jeanine's tone of voice is calm, but is riddled with an unyielding firmness. "Go to the revolver."

Lynn has to comply, the word "no" forming a repetitive melody as she walks towards the steel table, stopping just in front of it.

"Pick it up."

And Lynn does, reaching forward to wrap both hands around the grip, lifting the gun up to eye level. It is loaded- all she has to do is click a bullet into place. She does this with shaking hands, tears burning at her eyes. Is she really going to execute her best friend? Is she really going to do this? What if Marlene is innocent- what if Marlene didn't do this- why does it have to be Marlene?

"Shoot."

Lynn stares down the shaft of the gun, taking aim, her finger hovering over the trigger. Marlene stands there, head cocked to the side, staring at her. There is no emotion shown on her pale face, no feeling shining in her blue eyes. She's like a corpse- cold and unfeeling. She doesn't move, doesn't struggle in the handcuffs, doesn't sway, doesn't shake. Marlene Mirage looks death in the face, unafraid. Smirking.

"Shoot!"

The brown haired girl is the one who is afraid. She doesn't want to shoot Marlene. She loves Marlene! She loves her like a sister! Every moment spent with Marlene flashes before Lynn's eyes: the time they first met and smeared chocolate cake over each other's faces at the age of three- sparring in a martial arts class- getting their ears pierced when they were nine- racing each other down one of the Pit's many walkways- going to parties with Uriah and drinking themselves silly even though they were underage- riding the trains- walking near the chasm- skipping class- sitting on the sculpture- talking- hugging- laughing- smiling. And then Lynn looks closely at Marlene, staring into her eyes, the finger descending slowly down onto the trigger.

And just as she's about to pull it and murder Marlene, her best friend's face crumples, her smile disappearing. Marlene is miserable again as she says, "Lynn."

Lynn's finger, on the trigger, doesn't pull down. Her hands are shaking so hard now that she cannot aim properly. She cannot hurt Marlene. She cannot execute her; cannot murder her! The doubt and rage and sadness and unfairness of it all comes crashing down, and a scream builds out, emitting from her mouth in a single, piercing note.

"_SHOOT!_"

The gun drops from her hand, clattering onto the table. "No. I won't kill her. I won't kill her."

"Lynn."

"If you do not shoot, you are a coward."

"Then let me be a coward!"

"Lynn."

"If you do not shoot, if you choose to let her go free, then we will all have been put in danger. Marlene Mirage unlawfully assassinated ten children. She deserves to die. She deserves it. By killing her, you will have saved the rest of our lives."

Lynn takes one look at the revolver, one look at the figure of Marlene, whose hair spills over her shoulders and blue eyes are melancholy. "I won't," she says. "I won't kill Marlene."

"Thank you, Lynn," says Marlene.

And then, suddenly, the cuffs retract, the ones in the ground opening and leaving her to sprint towards the table, the cuffs around her hands unlatching and allowing her to pick up the fallen gun and aim it in Lynn's direction. Before Lynn can process what is happening quickly enough, Marlene's finger is hovering over the trigger and pulling it. A bullet emits from its barrel, traveling in the direction of Lynn's heart. As it penetrates first cloth and then flesh, Lynn dies, falling to the floor as everything goes black.

The next thing she knows, she is lying on a chair remarkably like something you'd find in a dentist's office, gaping as she stares around the mirrored room. Althea, the woman from Abnegation, stands above her, her lips pursed thoughtfully. Lynn happens to glance at her reflection in one of the walls- how could she not?- and finds that her face is pale and her eyes wide.

Lynn doesn't even know what to make of the Aptitude Test. When she finally comes to conclusion, she speaks the words to Althea. "That was disturbing."

Althea moves to the front of the chair while taking the electrodes out of her forehead, and then Lynn's. There is a brief pause in which a half-smile graces the Abnegation woman's lips before she says, "Although I've volunteered many times, I've never seen a sequence of such emotionally impacting scenarios in any experience so far." She then proceeds to remove the wires and deposits them on the top of the machine next to the right-back corner of the chair. After this, she takes up a small computer and presses a few buttons, tapping Lynn's results onto it and presumably pressing "send." The test results aren't often reported verbally, unless something goes wrong with one of the tests.

Lynn sighs, rubbing her temples. She has a headache. If she doesn't get her results soon, Lynn thinks she may just spontaneously combust.

Thankfully, Althea senses this, and finishes up the electronic conclusions before setting down the computer, shutting it off. Then, she stands next to Lynn's chair. Lynn sits up as the woman begins with, "The Aptitude Test is complex. There are many different stages of the simulation that rule out factions, henceforth pinpointing one to form a conclusive result. Some stages- or scenarios, as I like to call them- rule out more than one faction. Typically, the average number of scenarios is four. You experienced three.

"The scenarios are different for everyone. Often, some experience the same scenario as others- I believe there are fifty in total- but people react differently. For example, the scenario with the dog. You chose to run. Others choose to kill it, feed it, tackle it, shut their eyes and wait for it to kill them..." Althea laughs lightly, although her tone is more grim than cheery. "Also, sometimes one can manipulate the scenarios to include people they no, or possibly, the scenarios can take those people in your mind and convert them into the test stage. Such as the scene in which you had to execute your friend."

Lynn stares at the woman's dull brown locks of hair that could be so pretty if they were their natural colour. "Go on."

"As I said, the test eliminates all but one aptitude. Let's begin with the first." Althea closes her eyes as she speaks. "You were faced with two decisions: knife or cheese. Choosing the cheese indicates Amity, and the knife indicates Dauntless. Had you chosen the cheese and fed the dog, another scenario would have confirmed that you were peaceful. You chose the knife, so that ruled Amity out."

"So I'm Dauntless?"

"I'll get to that. Simply put, choosing the knife didn't confirm that you were Dauntless. Instead, it tallied that as an option."

Lynn nods, her hands clutching at the arm rests. She needs Dauntless. She must get Dauntless.

Althea continues. "However, despite choosing the knife, you ran. This indicates two things: you weren't brave enough to kill the animal, so you ran, but you were intelligent enough to know you could outrun the dog. That labeled Erudite as a possibility. Then again, attempting to break through the window was risky and a feat only a Dauntless would dare to partake in.

"As for the second scenario, it was meant to confirm whether or not you were Erudite. Clearly, your mind conjured up the character of Mrs. Loretta Azure, and as I've never seen this scene in all my experience, I'm sure the simulation is a direct result of not the pre-programmed scenarios but the thoughts in your head." She places a gentle hand on Lynn's shoulder, but Lynn shrugs it off. "Anyway, it might have been improvised, but it got the job done. It pegged Erudite as a possibility, and ruled out Candor when you lied about brandishing a knife at her dog."

"Was that truly her dog?"

Althea smiles. "No. Erudite apartments do not allow pets- it reduces efficiency in studies."

"Apparently," Lynn says.

The Abnegation woman nods, taking in a deep breath. "Finally, your last test was the most brutal of all Aptitude Test scenarios. It was meant to rule out Abnegation and test Dauntless." Lynn clutches the sides of her chair harder, because she already knows the direction in which this is going. "Since you refused to shoot your friend, Marlene Mirage, you nearly defied the Dauntless requirements. Even so, Jeanine Matthews did warn you that it was a cowardly act- did warn you that if you did not shoot Marlene, others would be in danger.

"Therefore, both Dauntless and Abnegation have been ruled out."

"And so..." Lynn whispers, biting the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood.

Althea closes her eyes once more as she delivers the news. "In conclusion," she says, "You display an aptitude for Erudite."

Lynn gapes at Althea for an undeterminable amount of time. The words run through her mind. _Erudite. She is Erudite._ She thinks of Shauna and Hector back home, and her mother and father... thinks of Marlene and Uriah and the rest of her friends... thinks of her entire faction, the Dauntless compound that she's grown up in. All her life they've thought she was Dauntless- _she_ thought she was Dauntless. But now Lynn's brain has confirmed that she's meant to wear blue clothes and glasses and walk around in polished halls talking of books.

Sure, she might be smarter than average (because no one gets Erudite if they aren't intelligent), and Althea might say she belongs there... but she doesn't. Lynn can't be Erudite. Why is she Erudite? Why? Why? Lynn wants to be angry, but there's no one to be angry with. The Aptitude Test results aren't faulty. Lynn has gotten Erudite, and that is that. She's an Erudite who prefers black to blue and blood to books. Lynn is, simply put, a Dauntless-born smartass (if you're one to insult).

Somewhere inside her, something finally clicks, and she gasps. She doesn't love fighting. She might be good at it, but that doesn't mean she has a passion for it. Lynn's always loved school, too, if the lessons aren't completely shallow and pointless. So maybe, just maybe, she does belong to Erudite. But if someone found out, like Raymond, they'd tease her mercilessly. She'd be leaving behind Uriah and Marlene. Her family would disown her. Lynn's life would be miserable.

What a dilemma.

Lynn swings her legs off of the chair and stands up. "Thank you," she says curtly, aiming it towards Allthea, who looks quite concerned. "I think I'd best be leaving now."

Just before she walks out the door, Lynn punches one of the mirrors as hard as she possibly can. When she exits the room, she can hear the shards hit the floor behind her, singing a short-lived song that consists of a variety of onomatopoeia. And when she finally enters the crowded cafeteria once again, she consults one of the moderators, asking to go to the nurse's office.

After all, Lynn couldn't possibly play cards with an arm full of shattered glass.


End file.
